CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

2. CONFLICT AT WORK THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ORGANIZATIONS 69
“identification with outside groups”). The net result is difference, debate,
conflict, and competition among organizational members. This is clearly
recognized in recent literature on organizational negotiation and conflict
resolution (Bazerman & Neale, 1992; Neale & Bazerman, 1991). Subsequent
theoretical work done by Simon (1997) and his associates, Cyert and
March (1992), also attempted to deal with these challenges by introducing
the notion of organizations as coalitions made up of individuals and parties
with divergent interests and goals.
The human limitations on rational decision making coupled with the
contested nature of top-down bureaucratic organizational decisions and
policy—both stemming from the fundamental organizational tensions
related to the human factor and the differentiation of tasks and interests—are
among the factors stimulating the development of alternative
organizational structures. This leads us to a consideration of less bureaucratically
configured organizational systems.
the PostBureauCratiC ParaDiGM anD orGanizational harMony
Formal bureaucratic organizational models are increasingly viewed as
antithetical to productive and efficient organizational process, the need for
organizations to be more flexible and adaptive in relation to their environment,
and the increasingly knowledge-based labor processes requiring
greater cooperation and collaboration. Together, these forces create tensions
and conflicts within bureaucratic organizations that prompt alternative
paradigms and managerial practices. Postbureaucracy is clearly
the trend in both the practical world of management and the theoretical
world of organizational studies (Barzelay, 1992; Clegg, 1990; Heckscher
& Donnelon, 1994). It is also an underlying element in other more recent
organizational developments including post-Fordism, lean production,
and flexible specialization (Castells, 1996; Harrison, 1994; Piore & Sabel,
1984; Sayer & Walker, 1992; Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1990).
Heckscher (1994) outlined the main features of postbureaucracy. In
contrast to bureaucratic theory, organizational efficiency and harmony in
this model are based not on formalization, instrumentalism, or rational
legal authority but rather on dialogue, persuasion, and trust. Based on
the preceding discussion, this would suggest a reduced need for formal
authority and punishment-centered bureaucratic rules. Consensual participatory
decision making carries the day.
Practices supporting the postbureaucratic organization include information
sharing and dissemination; organizational behavior and action
guided not by formal roles and job descriptions but by professional principles;
interaction, communication, and decision making driven by problems
and projects rather than top-down directives; and evaluation and
reward based on peer input and negotiated standards of performance.